When I met SPR
by Amii-chan719
Summary: Mai Taniyama could never quite shake off her past, no matter how hard she tried. Her attempt to live as an ordinary tokyo girl was derailed after encountering the members of SPR. Will the gang be enough to help her? Or would Mai meet the same fate as her parents did?
1. Chapter 1

Prologue

Hinami was sitting out on the back patio, watching how the rays of the sun danced on the lakes surface. Only a few birds could be heard chirping, and the cool breeze gave her a slight shiver. The calm and beautiful scenery contrasted sharply with her internal turmoil of emotions. She bit her lip to suppress the tears stinging her eyes, choosing instead to take a large gulp of her tea. It burned her throat, but feeling that pain was more tolerable than the pain she was feeling at that very moment. Hinami needed a distraction. Just something, anything, to not think about _him_. She stood and entered the cabin, casting her eyes on the sleeping form on the overstuffed couch.

Oh, her daughter. Her precious little Mai. At just six years old, Mai was so sweet and adorable. Those rosey pink chubby cheeks, locks of brown hair that glowed a little red under the sun, and such large compassionate eyes. Hinami never really understood what a mother's love meant, but after Mai had been born she understood. It was like having a piece of her heart exposed to the world, which needed to be loved, protected, and cherished. It amazed her. It scared her. It was her new world.

However, as much as she felt disgusted by her current feelings, the love for her daughter could never fill the gaping hole in her heart. She just knew it would never be enough. And for that she hated herself. What type of mother was she? Takashi loved her when no one else did, and it didn't matter that their families didn't approve. Or that no one but a few friends attended the wedding. Or that even now, with Takashi gone, that her family still remained silent.

The funeral was just last week. They had gone for a trip to the ice cream parlor, yet no one could predict the truck that had come barreling towards their car. The car had flipped over twice and slid down the embankment by the river. Hinami had been gifted with the power to heal, and had been forced to make a choice. Mai and Takashi had suffered fatal injuries, the amount of energy needed to heal herself from bleeding out left her with only enough energy to save one more person. It was too late to wish that the accident didn't happen, but she had wished that maybe the injuries weren't so severe. That was not the case. Even now she could still feel the hot blood seeping into her clothes,, when she closed her eyes she could only see the life leaving Takashi's eyes. Mai was suffering from nightmares, and Hinami couldn't help but shake the nagging feeling that something was wrong with the whole accident. Nevertheless she packed a few bags and took Mai to a cabin far out into the countryside to be safe and more importantly, to heal. Hinami layed a blanket over Mai and stepped outside again, this time unable to hold back her tears.

 _Four years later…_

Mai stood at the front of the crowd, watching as the casket was lowered into the ground. The clouds were getting darker, and Mai wondered if she should have brought an umbrella in case it rained. As the casket was finally set down, Mai grabbed a handful of dirt and threw it into the hole, followed by a single white lily. The few people at the funeral followed her lead. Mai didn't recognize them, but it made her feel relieved that there were people who would miss her mom too. The caretakers started filling up the hole and slowly people started to leave. Except for her. The minutes felt like hours, she couldn't move, didn't want to move. There had been so much she wanted to know, to learn from her mom. It felt like everything happened too soon and Mai hadn't been ready for the day her mom died. Suddenly she felt a warm hand on her shoulder. Mai turned around to face her sensei.

"I'm sorry, but it's time for us to go."

Mai's eyes glistened. She was ready to protest, but her sensei was kind enough to take her in when the lawyers couldn't locate any of her relatives. Not wanting to be a burden already, Mai clenched her fists and nodded.

This was her new reality.

* * *

"You're late Taniyama!"

Mai winced at the angry glare her sensei was casting upon her. It really wasn't her fault this time. Really! How was she supposed to know that the power went out, thus resetting her alarm clock and waking up with only twenty minutes to get ready, catch the train, AND stop to pet the stray cat outside the school gates?

In one breath Mai gasped, "Gomen nasai, I promise it won't happen again."

"I've heard that before. Hurry and take a seat so that I can continue with today's lesson."

"Hai!" With that Mai slid into her desk, watching as her classmates smirked behind their hands. Clearly today wasn't going to be her day.

* * *

Math was undeniably Mai's worst subject, even though she had no idea what she planned to do in the future, she just knew math would not be part of it. Japanese literature and English were easy enough today, but it didn't stop their teachers from piling on a ton of homework to prepare for next week's exams. When the bell rang for lunch Mai moved her desk to join her friends.

"So, what do you guys think about the old school house?" Michiru asked, stealing Keiko's english homework to copy.

Keiko yanked her homework back, "This is why you're failing. But since I'm feeling good today I'll let you copy for that pack of gummies you have." A sob was heard as Michiru praised Keiko while simultaneously removing a few gummies for herself.

Mai rolled her eyes at their antics, "I think it's a waste of space, the school doesn't even use it. I heard that the building is haunted and that's why they've stopped doing construction."

"I agree, but I think it's cool. Just picture it, me, walking past the old wooden building that's falling apart. Boom! A ghost! I scream, but a handsome man comes in to save me, vanquishing the spirit and we kiss, fall in love and have tons of babies."

"Keiko! Be more realistic. Anyways, you'll probably end up alone since you're such a drama queen. I can't imagine any boy who'll be able to put up with you." With that, Michiru took a large bite of her bread.

"Why don't we share ghost stories today? We can go to the audiovisual room after school, you know, if Mail doesn't have detention for being late." Mai laughed and agreed to the meet up. She had only gotten a warning and a stern lecture from her sensei. Maybe the day wasn't that bad after all.

* * *

"… so then the woman went back to the public restroom with the police officer… and as he'd instructed she went inside, and waited to hear the 'voice' again. After a few moments she heard a scary voice asking her, 'Shall I put the red veil over your face?' The woman said yes. Suddenly the police officer heard a loud scream! He pushed the door open and rushed in to find… ," Mai paused, "... the woman lying dead, covered with blood as if she were wearing a red veil. There were small holes all over her body, as if someone had repeatedly stabbed her with a knitting needle." Mai turned off her flashlight. Apparently once everyone turns off their flashlight after telling their ghost story, the group counts the number of people and an extra voice will be heard. The extra voice is supposed to be the voice of a ghost!

"That's so scary Mai-chan, this is why girls shouldn't go to the bathroom alone." Keiko nodded quickly, clutching Michiru. "Just a reminder, we have to keep our voices low."

"Oh right sorry. It's your turn Michi."

"Okay, well you know how we were talking about the old school building?" The girls nodded. "The building was supposed to be destroyed a long time ago, but construction was stopped because of a curse." Mai thought about it, for it did seem to make sense. There were so many fires, accidents, a teacher committed suicide, and even worse… a dead child was found.

"When the construction workers tried to demolish the place, they either got sick or were injured. When they tried to demolish the west wall, the roof fell through to the second floor and everyone on the first floor was killed. It forced them to stop. Last year they tried again, but they had to stop when the incidents started up again. A driver lost control of his truck and ran over some students who were on the volleyball court. That's not all, one evening, my senpai was passing by the old building and saw a ghost staring at her and gave her such a wicked look. My senpai said she had never feared for her life like in that moment." Michiru shivered and turned her flashlight off. The room was engulfed in darkness. It was time

"Are you girls ready?" Everyone nodded.

"One…"

"Two…"

"Three…"

.

.

.

"Four."

"KYAAAAA!" The lights flickered on to reveal Michiru holding Mai in a choke hold, Keiko was hiding under the desk with her hands over her ears.

Standing at the door was a boy dressed in all black. Mai didn't have much experience in the boy department but she was unable to deny that he was heart stopping, panty dropping, shojo manga handsome. That wasn't the only reason Mai remained frozen on the spot. It was as if time had stopped, bringing everything to a grinding halt. The boy seemed to have noticed, unlike the other girls who were too busy fawning over his looks. He looked at her with curiosity and wonder that Mai had to look away, unable to handle the intensity of his stare. However, that split second was enough to leave Mai tingling from her head to her toes.

"Ano, were you the one who said 'four'...?"

The boy blinked and looked at Keiko, withdrew his hand from the light switch, and tilted his head. When he spoke it was like the angels were singing. "Yes, is something wrong?"

Boom.

Mai practically saw her friends panties drop. Without any hesitation at all, Keiko and Michiru approached the stranger.

"Oh my, you scared us! It's good to see that we've been greeted by a pleasant sight rather than a frightening ghost." That Keiko, had she no shame?

"Sorry about that. The light wasn't on, so I didn't think anyone was in here, but then I heard your voices so I came to check."

Michiru was totally playing the sweet cute girl act. "It's okay, no worries!" She batted her eyelashes and held her hand to her mouth. "Are you a transfer student?"

"Sort of."

"What grade are you in?"

"I'll be turning 17 this year." His response left Mai puzzled. Normally students responded by saying what year they were in versus their age. Something about him didn't sit right with her.

"Ah! This makes you our senpai. We're first years, and we were just telling ghost stories. My name is Keiko Fueguchi, but you can call me Keiko. This is my friend Michiru Kobashi the other girl by the whiteboard is Mai Taniyama."

"Oh really? Would you mind if I joined you next time?" His eyes looked at Mai for a split second. Mai noticed and finally felt her tongue loosen.

"Of course not! Pleasure to meet you! I don't think Keiko has given you a chance to properly introduce yourself?" Mai used her super sickly sweet voice.

He narrowed his eyes slightly, "Shibuya. Kazuya Shibuya"

"Shibuya-senpai, do you like ghost stories? I absolutely love them!" Keiko was quick redirect his attention to her.

"Somewhat," then he flashed the girls a smile.

That smile.

Mai knew right away that it was fake and could only suspect that he was up to no good. However he looked at her determined eyes and reciprocated with a look Mai could only describe as a challenge. Her heart began to beat fast, from fear or intimidation she wasn't sure. "What are you doing here anyways?"

"I had some errands to run." Aha! Mai found an escape.

"Well then why don't you get to your errands? It's getting late and we should be heading out soon anyways." Mai said with a slight edge to her voice. Keiko and Michiru glanced at Mai and then at each other.

Michiru stepped in and clasped her hands behind her back, rocking on her heel. "Um, we'll meet you tomorrow after school. Our classroom is 1-B, see you then!"

The girls left, with Keiko muttering threats to Mai for ruining their once in a lifetime chance of scoring a date with the "hottest guy in the world". Shibuya watched the girls as they left, his eyes focused on Mai's retreating form. She didn't seem like a threat, but somehow he was sure that the electricity he had felt in the room had occurred because of her. Was it brought on by their eyes meeting? Or perhaps she was attempting to intimidate him. Threat or not, his gut told him that he would need to keep a closer eye on her. Shibuya shook his head, this was not the time to get distracted. He was here for business and whether or not he was interested in pursuing the enigma called Mai could wait.


	2. Chapter 2

A soft meow caused Mai to slowly open her eyes. She had awoken before her alarm rang but had hoped to catch a few more minutes of sleep until then. Mai pulled the covers back over her head until another, much louder cry, interrupted her attempt to fall back asleep. Moving the covers slightly, Mai saw her black cat, Mushi, staring expectantly at her. His golden eyes demanding to be fed.

"Ugh! Fine, I'm getting up."

Glancing at the clock which read 6:45 am she sighed and mourned the 15 minutes she had lost. At least this time she would get to school on time. Upon seeing Mai get up, Mushi ran out into the kitchen to wait by his food bowl.

Mai replaced his water bowl and carefully measure out a cup of dry food. Feeling a bit more generous than usual, she also added in a few pieces of his favorite chicken treats. Taking an extra second to watch Mushi eat and listen to his content purrs, Mai smiled at her precious pet. She went to her room to grab a towel and gave a quick pat on Mushi's head before entering the shower.

After a hot shower, she went to her room to get ready for the day. Her uniform hung on the closet door, free of any wrinkles. It wasn't that bad in her opinion, although Keiko sure had a lot to say about it. The top was a pastel yellow blouse, with a black sailor top and a red bow tied at the front. The skirt was a solid black color, which she paired with thigh high socks. Doing a small twirl in front of the mirror, Mai took a step forward to inspect her shoulder length hair. It had gotten longer, framing her face, giving her a more cute appearance. Twisting a lock between her fingers, Mai wondered how long it would take for her hair to grow back to her waist. Never again would she chop off her hair in an act of rage.

The hair stylist had gasped when Mai had walked into the salon, her hair had been an uneven chaotic mess. Even with her expertise, the hair stylist could only do so much without cutting off more hair, leaving it at just below her chin. This left Mai's hair to be shorter than she would have liked it to be, and had garnered unwanted attention from her classmates. But the past was the past, right? Taking note of the time, Mai realized she had a few more minutes before she needed to head out. Grabbing her lunch bag out of the fridge and gulping down a glass of orange juice, she slipped on her shoes and said goodbye to her cat. Another look at her watch reminded her that she needed to catch to the 7:45 train in order to enjoy the ten minute walk to school and still be on time. It was looking to be a beautiful day today, so Mai was hoping to enjoy the walk through the cherry blossom trees.

* * *

Mai took a deep breath of fresh air. The soft, sweet fragrance of the cherry blossoms filled the air with the petals falling from the trees, swirling all around her. The sky was the perfect shade of blue, a few clouds sprinkled here and there. It was like a scene from a movie. All too soon Mai reached the gates of her school and she let out a disappointed sigh. Looking around, she could see the old run down building off to the side of her school. It amazed her that the school hadn't torn it down yet, and for the past few years it had become a tradition to take bets as to when the old building would either be torn down or collapse on its own. Deciding that she had a few minutes to spare, she spun on her heel and headed towards the front steps of the building. It looked so out of place against the beautiful scenery and modern buildings.

' _Looking at it, it does look like the rumors could be true. I wonder what it looks like inside.'_ Through the window there appeared to be a flashing red light. Mai practically shoved her face against the glass for a closer look, ' _What the heck, why is there a camera here? It looks fancy, like the ones they use for tv.'_

Without a second thought Mai yanked open the door, ignoring the sign that prohibited students from entering. The camera was set in the middle of the room, pointed towards the door. The entryway was lined with shoe lockers, with a few shelves laying haphazardly against the left wall. There was a fine coat of dust layering most of the furniture, and it became increasingly clear to Mai that the building was much more worn down than the outer appearance suggested. The camera itself was bulky, about a dozen buttons lined the sides. Mai had no doubt that a camera like this was something she could never afford and most likely something she should avoid touching. Taking a step back caused the wooden floorboards to creak loudly against the silence.

"WHO'S THERE!?" A stern voice shouted. Reacting with dignity and grace that only Mai was capable of doing, she screamed.

Spinning on her heel she turned to make a run for it, but luck was not on her side again for the second time that week. Somehow she managed to trip over her own feet and stumbled into one of the shoe lockers. The impact of the shoe locker shook the floor, knocking over the other pieces of furniture and causing the shelves next to her to tip forward. Mai let out a squeak and closed her eyes with her arms raised above her head as the shelf began to fall. She could hear footsteps rapidly approaching, and although only a few seconds had passed, Mai felt as if the world was moving in slow motion. Mai heard a door open and in a split second felt herself get pushed aside. A huge cloud of dust rose into the air momentarily blinding her. She heard a loud thump and a slight groan. Taking a step forward, Mai was surprised to feel her foot stuck in something. Looking down she gasped.

Her foot was stuck in the shelf.

As in, phased through the shelf. " _Shit, this can't be happening… not now not ever. Holy crap!'_ Trying not to panic even more and feeling her heart race with the knowledge that the dust was settling in fast, she grabbed her leg and yanked it out of the shelf, receiving a small scrape on her leg. Her leg stabilized itself rather quickly and she sighed in relief, ' _This is a problem for future Mai_.' Despite the mess, Mai thanked her lucky stars that the dust had given her the cover she needed to deal with her problems without being seen by the strange man.

"Oh my god are you okay?" Mai asked, guilt washing over her as she saw the strange man lying on the floor wincing in pain as he tried to get up. " Can you stand? I can get the school nurse or I can call someone for you! Oh my god I'm so sorry I didn't mean for you to get hurt!"

"Tsk, don't touch me. Just what do you think you were doing in here?" The man said in a stern and angry tone.

Mai flinched, "Oh… I-I uhh… hehehe you see- um…"

A third familiar voice interjected, "Lin, what happened?"

' _It's the guy from yesterday!'_ Still fueled by adrenaline Mai spoke in one breath. "Ahhh Shibuya-senpai! I'm so sorry! The guy yelled and I got scared and I panicked and then I tripped and fell, I'm sorry I didn't mean to cause a mess. I'm sorry!" Mai bowed her head, she could feel the blood rushing to her face and the silence from the two men only caused her to feel more embarrassed.

Peeking through her bangs she noticed the Shibuya had helped the man named Lin stand, who was well dressed and had one covered by his bangs. An air of intimidation and frustration hung around him, while Shibuya looked annoyed.

"You're injured, I suggest seeing the nurse."

"What?" Looking down Mai saw the bloody scrape on her knee. She had forgotten about it in the midst of her apology.

Shibuya spoke again, "The bell has also rung, you're late for class."

Mai gasped and seized the chance to escape, running out despite the pain. The two men stared after her, and Lin could feel the frustration radiating from his young ward.

Sighing he bent down despite his own injured leg to examine the rubble, "The camera is broken."

* * *

Mai spent the rest of the day wallowing in embarrassment. There was no way she could face Shibuya-senpai tonight, not after the morning disaster. Just thinking about this morning's events caused Mai's cheeks to redden. When the last bell rang she began to furiously stuff her belongings into her bag. Her friends watched as Mai fumbled with the clasp on her bag. They had been worried when they didn't see Mai in homeroom and when she finally did arrive, her leg had been bandaged. Despite their persistent questions during lunch Mai had refused to answer them.

"Just where do you think you're going? Did you forget that we promised to tell ghost stories with Shibuya-senpai today?" Michiru asked.

"Not really." Mai replied, still struggling with her bag. Keiko yanked the bag away and began to organize the contents inside so that the bag would close.

"Well why not? He's such a hottie, don't you want to see that dreamy smile of his? I'm so ready to grab his arm when you begin to speak in that scary voice of yours. You can hold his other arm Michi-chan."

"Thanks for the offer but no thanks, I've got my own plan. Where should we hold the meeting? I think the audiovisual room is much scarier."

Mai rolled her eyes and crossed her arms. There was no way she was changing her mind.

"Excuse me… I couldn't help but overhear you three talking. Something about... ghosts?"

Mai turned around to look at Kuroda who was standing by the door. Her arms were crossed angrily and her eyes were narrowed. Mai glanced at her friends and they both shrugged their shoulders.

"We're telling ghost stories, that's what." Behind her Keiko hissed at Mai for telling Kuroda the truth. They all knew how Kuroda would react. Mai stood taller in an attempt to intimidate the girl.

"Ghost stories!? Are you insane? Don't you girls know any better? I swear you all are- " A loud knock at the door interrupted Kuroda's rant.

"Taniyama-san, are you here?" Keiko and Michiru held each others hands whispering, "He's here! He's here!" Mai on the other hand wanted to hide under the desk.

Kuroda whipped her head around, "Who are you? What are you doing here?"

Shibuya raised an eyebrow at her suspicious tone and cooly answered, "I'm here to meet the Taniyama-san and her friends."

"Let me guess, for ghost stories?"

"That's correct."

Kuroda turned to glare at Mai, and she jumped, startled at the intensity.

"I told you to stop! Telling ghost stories is dangerous, it causes low level spirits to gather! Not only that, but it causes higher level spirits to gather as well. No wonder I've been having headaches all day! The spirits must be getting stronger. I'm spiritually sensitive, you have no idea what a psychic like me has to go through."

Shibuya scoffed, "I think you're imagining things. Tell me, if you're really psychic then do you sense anything from the old building?"

Kuroda puffed out her chest, "Of course I do, they're war victim spirits. I've seen nurses and injured soldiers. I think it used to be an old hospital which is why it's full of spirits."

"Oh really? From which war?"

"World War II of course"

Shibuya smirked and crossed his arms, "I didn't know there was a hospital here. I heard that the school was here before the war. Perhaps it used to be a medical school?' Kuroda's face flushed but she was unwilling to back down.

"Look I don't know the history of the building, I just know what I saw, and that's the truth. Ugh, this is why I don't deal with non-psychic's. It's a waste of my time to explain this to you when it's so obvious that none of you will listen to me." With that Kuroda stormed off.

There was a brief moment of silence before Michiru timidly spoke up, "Um, Shibuya-senpai? Could we do a raincheck? I don't feel so good about it anymore." Keiko nodded in agreement.

"That's okay, we can do it another time. I was actually hoping to privately speak to Taniyama-san in the hallway." Keiko and Michiru's jaws dropped. The one girl not interested in Shibuya and he chooses to speak to her? Mai's shoulders dropped dramatically, she felt like a deer caught in the headlights. Comical tears ran down her face as she followed Shibuya into the hallway, her friends staring daggers at her. Looking over her shoulder she saw that Keiko was making the 'I'll slice your throat' motion and Mai shivered.

Shibuya walked further down the hallways, presumably to avoid being overheard by her nosy friends. Without even turning to face Mai he asked, "That girl, do you know her well?"

"Oh! Um… She's just a classmate, I've never really spoken to her. The few times I have usually end up with her yelling at me or my friends. She's a bit weird." Mai hoped that was all he wanted to know. "Um is your friend okay?"

"I was actually here to speak to you about that. His ankle was sprained pretty bad, which means he won't be able to stand or walk on his own for a while. This a problem you see, as he is too injured to work, hindering our investigation. Furthermore, the camera that was set up in the entrance was broken."

" I didn't even know the camera was broken, besides I was scared out of my mind. I said I was sorry!"

"Lin was trying to make sure you didn't touch the camera, and yet you somehow still managed to create a huge mess. You can pay me back… " Shibuya paused, his eyes watched as Mai tensed up, "... for approximately one thousand man yen."

"WHAT? No way, what type of camera is that stupid expensive?" Inside her mind Mai was freaking out over how many zeros that meant. She couldn't possibly pay it off, not without getting a second job and living off of ramen for a few months.

"The camera was custom made in Germany, I can show you the receipt for it. However I'm willing to let you work as my assistant if you can't pay me back."

' _His assistant? Does this mean he's the boss?'_ "Work as your assistant?"

Shibuya could almost see the gears turning in her brain, "Yes Taniyama-san, did you not hear me the first time?" He looked at her dumbstruck face and sighed. "It's not a problem if you don't want to, just pay me back. A check preferably, drop it off when you're ready."

He began to walk away and Mai regained control of herself. "I'D LOVE TO BE YOUR ASSISTANT! Of course, yes, I can't imagine anything else. Hehehe. Um, by the way Shibuya-san, what type of investigation are you doing?"

"Ghost hunting, the literal translation being to eliminate evil spirits. I'm with the Shibuya Psychic Research Center, we were hired by the school to do investigate the old school building."

"I have a question… what's a 'Psychic Research Center'?" Mai asked, fumbling over the strange words.

"Your pronunciation is terrible, aren't you taking English classes?" Shibuya said in a tone of frustration. Mai wanted to punch a wall, sure he was good looking but he was mean too!

"Its a research center studying psychic phenomenon, and… I'm the president."

' _Huh?'_


	3. Chapter 3

_8:56 pm_

"Tadaima!"

It was late when Mai opened the door to her small apartment. She kicked off her shoes at the entrance and threw her bag on the ground. Her cat Mushi raised his head at the loud disturbance and rearranged himself on his cat stand so that his back was to her. Mai still reached over to pet his head before making her way to the kitchen.

"Dang it, I forgot to go grocery shopping. I guess baby carrots and a bagel will do for dinner tonight." Mushi gave her a slow blink in return.

Mai put her bagel in the toaster and went to change into a plain t-shirt and sweatpants. There was only a little bit of cream cheese left in the container but Mai made sure to grab every bit of it to spread on her bagel. She headed to the living room to watch a bit of tv when she fell through the couch.

Mai let out a loud yelp. Her bottom hit the floor hard and only her torso remained visible. The carrots were scattered all over the floor and her precious bagel had disappeared to who knows where. She looked around frantically for her phone, desperately wanting to contact her sensei, Makoto Fujikawa. Her sensei would know what to do, she always did. Mai groaned when she remembered that her phone was still in her bag, impossible for her to reach. ' _Okay stay calm, this will pass, you just need to breathe and focus on getting up.'_ It felt like ages but Mai was able to wiggle her way forward to free herself from the couch. A couple of times her body remained stuck and she panicked believing she would have to live the rest of her life as some sort of human couch freak. Mai looked over at her cat, he had remained perched on his tower, too busy cleaning himself to pay her any attention.

"Thanks for the help," she muttered sarcastically. Still lying on the floor in an attempt to calm her racing heart, she let her mind wander to the events that took place after school.

* * *

 _A few hours earlier at 3:30 pm_

Shibuya sat down on a bench in the school garden. He laid his briefcase next to him, an indication that Mai was not welcome to sit next to him. She was slightly nervous considering he had blackmailed her into working for him.

"Um, I have a few questions. I know you said you were here to investigate but how is that possible? Who hired you? The school board is pretty strict about hiring people for non-educational purposes."

"All I know is that one week ago the principal came to my office and requested that we investigate the strange phenomenon surrounding the old building so that demolition may resume."

"Okaaay, so let me get this straight. You aren't a transfer student right?"

"Of course not, didn't you just hear me explain why I'm here? I merely said that for investigative purposes. My goal was to gather information from the students at this school and it just so happened that I overheard you and your friends telling ghost stories."

"If you want information I can tell you the rumors I heard from my friends and classmates. My friend Michiru was saying that-"

"Wait," Shibuya rummaged through his briefcase and pulled out a small black recorder. Turning it on with a soft click he said, "You can start now."

* * *

"... and yeah that's about it,"

"I see." With another small click Shibuya turned the recorder off.

"So, how much of the rumors do you think is true?"

"It's true that numerous people have died in that building, but all the deaths can be easily explained. Until 18 years ago when the building was still in use an average of 1-2 people died every year. The roof did collapse during demolition, however, there's no evidence that any construction worker died during the demolition. There were a few injuries, but were caused by human error rather than spirits. A third of the building was demolished as planned. About 6 years ago the body of a seven year old was found. She had been kidnapped by her neighbor and held for ransom. The kidnapper was arrested and charged for the crime. There was also the teacher who committed suicide, but records indicate a history of depression stemming from his divorce a few months before he took his life. Next were the students who were hit by a truck. The driver was drunk and lost control of the vehicle, seven were critically injured and two died as a result. Construction was stopped due to the accident and since then there has been an increase in rumors regarding the old building."

Mai clapped at the end of his speech, "Wow, you're really good. That was impressive."

Shibuya stood and snapped his notebook shut, "This was nothing, don't underestimate my investigative skills. Besides, I don't believe this investigation will turn up anything out of the ordinary."

"So if there's nothing to really investigate, does this mean I don't have to work?" Mai asked hopefully. Shibuya gave her a cold look and her heart sank to the floor. Mai nervously laughed, "Haha I'm just joking around! Hey, but on a totally new topic, why do you do this? It seems a bit depressing, hasn't there been a case you couldn't solve?"

He gave her a sideways glance, "I do it because I'm needed. There's never been a case I couldn't solve," he said with a smug.

"Amazing. You're smart and handsome. You deserve an award for being so… amazing!" She finished rather lamely.

"You think I'm handsome?"

Mai responded hesitantly, "Yes? Everyone else seems to think so too."

"Hmm I see. I suppose someone like yourself is still able to realize that much. At least you have good taste in men." Mai gasped, feeling as though she had been shot through with an arrow. ' _Just what the heck is that supposed to mean? I can't believe he's looking down at me like that! Obviously it's cool that he's super smart and sure he's the president of a psychic company, but his narcissistic behavior is what stuns me the most!'_ Seeing the smirk he was giving her she thought, ' _That's it! I'm going to call you Naru-chan! Narcissistic Naru-chan!'_

* * *

Mai all but threw the last few microphones they had gathered from the perimeter of the building on the ground. "Done! Phew! I don't understand why you need so many microphones for 'ghost hunting'."

"To capture sound Taniyama-san. Or did that minor physical labor cause you to forget the basic function of a microphone?" Mai let out a low growl, just how dare he? They barely knew each other and yet Naru was already comfortable with insulting her. He had his back to her but Mai suspected he was trying to ignore her angry stare.

"Of course I know that! That's not what I was asking though!"

Naru chose to ignore her comment. "Lets go, we don't have all day." They walked outside towards the black van and Naru opened the doors to reveal even more equipment. "Let's carry them out."

Mai looked at him, the equipment and back at him. She pointed at the equipment, "You mean all of them? You have got to be joking! There's no way you know how to use everything here!"

"I'm smart unlike you. Let's go, we're going to need everything." Her jaw dropped and suddenly she could already feel how sore her arms would be the next day. "Lin usually sets up base so we'll have to do that first." Mai's cheeks turned a bit pink at the reminder that she had injured his assistant.

Naru dumped some of the lighter cables into Mai's arms while he carried some of the heavier shelving. Mai grunted at the weight and followed him inside the old building. Despite disliking his attitude towards her, she still walked close to him through the dark halls.

Upon entering the rather large room Naru spoke. "Taniyama-san, I need you to build these shelves."

"What? Why do I have to do it? I don't even know how."

"Would you rather carry in the rest of the equipment? It probably weighs over 80 pounds."

"I'll build the shelf!"

It took Mai a little longer than she would care to admit to build the shelf. She was a high school student, not an expert shelf builder. Doing her best to figure out the pieces of the shelf she kept getting spooked by the little noises. A sudden loud creak caused her to scream.

Standing at the door was none other than Naru, who had returned carrying two bundles of cable with him. Mai let out breath, "Phew it's just you."

Naru glared at her, "Don't just stand around, get back to work!"

Mai stomped her foot, it was official. She didn't like him at all!

* * *

Once Mai had finished building the shelves, she took a step back to admire her work. She turned to look at her new temporary boss, waiting for more instructions. Noticing that he was too busy ignoring her like always, she figured she would get the conversation going.

"What's that thing you're working on?"

"It's a recorder, however unlike the handheld one, this one can record up to 24 is what we plug the microphones into. It's important that we keep both a physical and digital record of any evidence we capture."

"Ohhh. What type of evidence are we trying to get?"

Naru sighed, "I hate having to explain things to amateurs."

"Yet you still hired me! If you have a problem then I'll just leave and I won't help you!" Naru gave her another glare, oh how she was getting used to them.

"To record the sound of a ghost or anything unusual. It helps to determine if there is a ghost and the risks of staying the night. Otherwise you might not return"

"Stop trying to scare me! But I get it now. It figures that you'd be the type of person to look before he leaps."

"What?" Naru asked in confusion.

"Don't tell me Mr. President doesn't understand what I mean." Mai teased him. He huffed and turned away from her in response.

Now it was her turn to smirk, "It means you're extremely careful." Looking at another piece of equipment she pointed at it and asked, "Hey what about this?"

"I don't want to talk anymore."

' _Jeez can he be any more rude? Well I want to talk.'_ A devilish smile broke out on Mai's face. "Okay Mr. Grumpy but I might make some biiiiiig mistakes out of my ignorance. It would be such a shame if anything happened …," She raised her foot over a rather large camera sitting on the floor, holding her skirt up like a princess. "Oh look! Is this a camera or a fancy footstool? Whoops guess we'll find out." Naru turned to glare at her and she glared back. There was no way she was going to back down.

Naru sighed, "It's an infrared camera. To save you the trouble of asking so that you can focus on getting more oxygen in that small brain of yours I'll explain what this means. This is a thermograph, and this other one is a high speed camera. The infrared and high speed cameras are used for filming in the dark while the thermographic camera is used to capture temperature levels. This is important because when a ghost appears the temperature drops in the surrounding area."

"Wow that's so cool! I think I kind of get it now, see that wasn't so hard to explain."

"If you understand then stop asking stupid questions and get back to work!"

* * *

Naru dismissed her by saying that the cameras would continue to record throughout the night and that he expected her to meet him in front of the van right after school. This concluded her first day as assistant ghost hunter. It was strange to see how professional ghost hunting really was compared to the ghost hunting shows she had seen on tv. Definitely not like GhostBusters.

Mai figured it was time to get up and do something productive. Like going to sleep instead of doing her homework. She figured a bag of candy would persuade Keiko into letting her copy her homework. She got up to retrieve her phone and she quickly typed out a long message about the recent development in her abilities. Her thumb hovered over the send button. ' _Should I tell her?It's pretty late and it's not like it's happened a lot. Just a few times Not to mention that I don't even know if it's just a fluke so it might pass… I wouldn't want to worry her if it's not that big of a deal… You know what? I'll tell her if it interferes with my daily life, she just got promoted at work and she's still busy managing that after school program. I can't possibly add more to her plate than she already has.'_ Mai deleted the message and got ready for bed, she was determined to prove she could handle her new ability without having to ask for help. Afterall she had been taking care of herself for a while now, so what's the difference?


	4. Chapter 4

_The next day…_

As soon as Mai entered her classroom Keiko immediately grabbed her shoulders and shook her while asking, "Just what the heck happened yesterday? You practically disappeared after you spoke to Shibuya-senpai and on top of that you didn't even message the group chat to tell us the juice! I need details now and I'm warning you I've got my eyes set on him so if you want to fight over him bring it on!"

Michiru stepped in to help seeing as Mai was getting dizzy, "What she means is, would you mind filling us on your talk with Shibuya-senpai?"

"Yes yes sit down and I'll tell you everything. Besides, I'm not going to fight you Keiko-chan, no matter how much you wish for it." Her friends nodded their heads vigorously, they were obviously very eager to hear about Mai's interaction with Shibuya aka Naru. Mai began to tell them about the events starting in the hallways leading up to the old school building.

"WHAT? He isn't a transfer student?"

"Nah, it was just a lie."

Behind Mai, Kuroda spoke, "Taniyama-san. "

Mai jumped and turned around, "Can I help you?"

Kuroda spoke very quickly,"Is it true? Is Shibuya a psychic? You said he's here to investigate the old school building right? I'm psychic so maybe I can help him. Would you be able to introduce me to him?"

"Huh? Um… Naru said he's a ghost hunter so I don't think they're the same thing… besides he's not very nice, he doesn't like to deal with amateurs."

Behind her, Michiru whispered "Why do you call him Naru?"

Kuroda puffed her chest out, "I can assure you I'm very knowledgeable about spirits. I'm not an amateur like you are."

"Yeah but Naru-chan is a professional. He has all this fancy equipment and he even has an office."

"You should get the address to the office, we can go meet him sometime." Keiko interjected. Michiru cast an awkward smile to Kuroda as Keiko continued talking a mile a minute. Seeing as Mai was no longer paying attention to her, Kuroda stalked off to her desk to read and was clearly irritated at not being taken seriously.

"What's her deal?" Mai asked genuinely confused.

Michiru answered, "Don't worry about her, she's always been like that. Kuroda-san and Keiko-chan went to the same junior high school, and Keiko-chan said she was known for being a weirdo. Even then she still insisted she was psychic."

"Pretty stupid on her part to call herself psychic. She practically shoved that information down your throat and would nag you about the supernatural. It was really annoying and a lot of our classmates would avoid her. Halloween was the worst though." Keiko shook her head in disapproval at Kuroda's direction. Mai couldn't help but feel slightly bad for Kuroda, she knew what it felt like to be singled out, but most of all, what it was like to be lonely. The rest of the school day passed slowly. Mai had forgotten to copy Keiko's homework and was given extra work to do as punishment. During lunch, the girls had snuck to the rooftop to eat and traded portions of their lunch, Michiru always had the best bento box and thus was always swatting away her friends chopsticks. When the bell rang at the end of the day Mai said goodbye to her friends and promised they could hang out another day. She walked slowly towards the old building and noticed that Naru was already sitting in the back of the can

"Hello, whatcha up to?"

"I'm reviewing the data we collected and there appears to be nothing unusual. Either there are no ghosts or the ghosts are hiding due to our arrival. There's no danger presented here other than the structure of the building."

The loud click of heels was heard behind the duo. "Well well well what do we have here? That's a lot of fancy equipment. Looks like some babies playing around with their toys" Mai turned around to confront the rude person and looked at the woman in front of her. Her long hair was a fire engine red, with matching red lipstick and nails. Mai noticed the woman was also very well dressed, from her black blazer down to her also red heels.

"And you are?"

" The name is Ayako Matsuzaki, a pleasure." Mai looked at the man, who unlike Ayako was dressed casually and seemed more laid back.

"Hmpf, can't say the same back." Naru replied. Ayako looked as though she had swallowed a lemon and before she could open her mouth the man behind her stepped forward to introduce himself.

"My name is Houshou Takigawa."

"What is your business for disturbing us?"

"The principal hired me because I'm a miko. He wasn't confident about hiring a child to exorcise the old building. Serves him right too."

"If the principal has a problem with me then he can come speak with me directly, otherwise I'll continue on with my investigation. Besides, I thought you had to be a pure and innocent young lady to be a miko." Naru flashed her a dangerous smile. They all watched as Ayako's face turned a deep red, she was gaping like a fish. Takigawa meanwhile was trying, and failing, to stifle his laughter. Shibuya quickly turned his attention on the man.

"I assume you aren't her assistant based on your behavior?"

Takigawa winked, "Yup, I'm a monk from Koya mountain."

"I thought you had to be bald to be a monk?" Mai asked, wondering if maybe the change in culture had broken through old traditions.

Ayako snickered, "He probably got kicked out or something."

"I'll have you know I'm taking a break! A relaxing break where I can be myself!"

Ayako flipped her hair, "Well now that we've gotten introductions out of the way I suggest packing up your fancy toys because playtime is over. I personally think the principal is being overly dramatic by hiring so many people. I alone would have been enough."

Takigawa gave her a challenging look, "Don't you mean just me?"

"Don't fool yourself, you fake monk. Anyways, you there, sassy boy, what is your name?"

"Kazuya Shibuya. My assistant is Mai Taniyama." Mai bowed to be polite and Naru on the other hand was practically fuming smoke out of his nose.

"Never heard of you, must mean you're not special enough. Same goes for you."

"Look at you acting all high and mighty. I've never heard of a Matsuzaki whoever." Mai watched the two newcomers bicker and wondered what Naru would do now. Could they be right? Was he not reliable enough to solve the mystery of the old school building? Mai heard the crunch of the gravel, another person had come to join them. She sighed, was it another psychic come to join the fight?

"Psst! Taniyama-san!" Mai tensed up, she had forgotten about Kuroda's request earlier. Surely she hadn't truly meant it? The footsteps got closer. "I'm here, who are these people?"

"Oh um hi. Well it's a monk and a miko. They were also hired to investigate the old building."

Kuroda beamed at her words and stepped closer to the group. "That's absolutely wonderful! I could help you guys, I'm psychic as well and meeting people such as you two would help me expand my abilities. I don't know how to perform exorcisms but I'm sure I can learn. It's just that I've been having trouble communicating with the spirits here and they've been gathering at an alarming rate which-"

Ayako abruptly cut her off, "What did you just say? Honey I don't know you but I can tell that you absolutely crave the spotlight. Let me give you a piece of advice, there are other ways to get people's attention without dragging legitimate psychics down." Kuroda's face fell and Mai became furious on Kuroda's behalf.

"That was mean! Aren't you supposed to be an adult? You didn't have to talk that way to her."

Kuroda's bangs covered her eyes, "Whatever, believe me or not but you'll regret this. I'm going to cast a spell on you, a very strong one at that." She gave Ayako a cold look before walking away. Mai had never such a twisted look on Kuroda's face and it shook her to her core. She thought about going after the girl but held back. They weren't friends and even if Mai did follow her, what would she say? Shaking her head she figured it was best to stay put and help her temporary boss.

"Hey Naru-chan is there anything you want me to do?"

"What did you just call me?" Clutching at the bow on her shirt, she cringed at her carelessness and shrunk under the gaze of Naru.

"Ahhh hahaha. Oops? I called you Naru-chan, sorry?"

"Where did you hear that?"

"What? Oh! It must be your real nickname right? I can't possibly be the only one who thought Naru-chan for narcissist." She lightly slapped Naru's arm as she spoke hoping he wasn't mad at her. Naru gave her a suspicious look, one that Mai did not miss. It was clear she had struck some sort of nerve that went deeper than just a silly nickname. She stored this little piece of information away in case she ever needed it again.

Naru looked away first, "There's not much we can do today Mai, but your senpai mentioned they saw a spirit. Did they say which classroom?

Her heart started to race, she wasn't sure if she should be happy or upset that Naru had dropped honorifics so soon, "You called me by my first name!"

"So did you, now which classroom?"

"I think it was the west side of the building towards the back."

"We'll set up a camera there."

"Ah! The principal is coming our way." Ayako and Takigawa stood a little straighter to give off a professional vibe as they were still standing by Naru and his professional set of equipment.

"I see you've all met. How lovely to see you all getting along. I'd like you to meet one more person, John Brown." The principal was a plain modest man but with John by his side, it only made him look even more plain as John's aura cast a brilliant heavenly glow. Mai was taken back by his bright sky blue eyes, silky blonde hair and rosy cheeks. He was the definition of a true angel. Naru didn't seem to react as she did but to her pleasure the others were as surprised as she was. They were caught up in his innocence, that is until he spoke.  
"Hello," he bowed, "Pleasure to meet you. My name is John Brown."

His dialect, just what the? She could hear Ayako and Takigawa giggling. It was taking all of her willpower not to join them and it was hurting her face to be serious.

The principal gave a nervous smile, "Apparently he learned Japanese from the Kansai area. Well well, look at the time! I must go but please continue with your work."

"Thank you," John gave another deep bow.

Naru stepped forward, "Brown-san, where are you from?"

John was delighted at his question, "I'm from Australia, it's a beautiful country." Mai felt bad that she was still giggling but it didn't help that Takigawa was clutching his abdomen or that Ayako was wiping her eyes from laughing too hard.

"You-You should definitely drop the kyoto dialect, there a-are a lot more dialects out there that you can speak, b-but p-please drop this one." Takigawa said in between his laughter.

John was a bit puzzled, he had only been trying to be polite. "I'll speak more casually then if that works?" Mai gave him a thumbs up despite the fact that this only caused Takigawa to laugh harder.

She asked him, "Say Brown-san, what did the principal hire you for? We already have a miko and a monk. What can you do?."

"Please, call me John. I'm an exorcist." Takigawa and Ayako immediately stopped laughing. Mai on the other hand was confused at the term until Naru spoke.

"In Catholicism, doesn't that mean you're ranked higher than a priest? Typically ordained priests are at least 25 years old"

"You're correct, and I know I look young which makes it hard to believe but I'm actually nineteen." Mai was impressed, it seemed to her that she had found herself surrounded by powerful people even if two of the three newcomers were a bit on the childish side. Mai watched as Naru began to walk towards the building without a word to the rest of the group. The others followed as if it were a natural thing and Mai felt as though group had always been together. She shook her head at the strange thought, there was no reason to feel that way and yet she couldn't help but smile at the sight. ' _Maybe this won't be so bad after all.'_


	5. Chapter 5

Heading into their base, Takigawa whistled at the sight of all the impressive equipment in the room, and Ayako pretended not to notice by examining her nails. The room had been set up with a dozen monitors, each one linked to a camera set at a unique setting. John asked Mai about the equipment and she was eager to explain her newfound knowledge about the thermographic image on the screen. It was just a bit of what Naru taught her from the day before.

"Go stand around elsewhere if you aren't here to do the job we were hired for."

"Hmph fine, don't mind me while I go wrap up this case!" Ayako strode out of the room with a dramatic hair flip. Takigawa scoffed at her but waved goodbye at Mai and John to work on his own as well. Meanwhile John stood awkwardly to the side, his smile did nothing to hide his concern.

"Do you mind if I stay and help out?" He asked sheepishly.

"Please do," Naru answered.

Out of the corner of her eye Mai saw a figure moving on one of the monitors. She took a closer look and gasped loudly, "IT'S A GHOST."

The figure on the screen was of a young teenage girl, clad in a red kimono adorned with a huge blue obi tied in the back, her black short hair framed her ghostly white face. It didn't take long for the mysterious girl to disappear from the monitors leaving Mai to anxiously search the other monitors for another glimpse of her. A slight creak made her spin around to see the girls face appear from the darkness and Mai shrieked, clinging to the nearest person, Naru, who had remained calm.

Naru lightly swatted her head with his clipboard to get Mai to release his arm. In a bored voice he said, "The principal must be desperate to solve this case if he hired someone like you."

John had stepped in to comfort Mai, but she stood there with her mouth open in shock. The girl she had mistaken for a ghost was none other than the Masako Hara, the young 16 year old medium whose show Mai watched every now and then. Just how many more people did the principal plan to hire to investigate the old building? Despite her own ever growing abilities, Mai wasn't too keen on labeling herself as a psychic. Let alone mingling with _professional_ psychics. Suddenly her mind kicked into overdrive. ' _What if they can help me?'_ There were an infinite amount of possibilities about working with these professionals. Could she possibly learn to trust them with her own secrets in order to finally have control over her body again? Or was it always going to be too dangerous to reveal the truth? It was something Mai was going to have to figure out on her own before taking action. Until then she would try to lay low in order to avoid being figured out by the professionals.

There was a bang that resonated through the building followed by a loud feminin scream that tore Mai away from her thoughts. The scream could only belong to one person, and that was Ayako Matsuzaki. The group of teens hardly looked at each other as they hurried in the direction of the noise, with Masako falling behind as her kimono severely restricted her movements. Upon entering the second floor hallway, they met up with Takigawa, who looked at them in confusion, shouting, "What was that?!" Kuroda's insistence of spirits roaming the building echoed in Mai's head, was there some actual truth to her words despite what the others had said?

"Hello?! Somebody open this door!" Ayako shouted behind the closed door at the end of the hallway. Naru went up and attempted to open it but found that it was indeed stuck.

"Here let me try,". Takigawa pulled with all his might but the door remained shut. "Hey Ayako! The door won't open, so I'm going to kick it in! Stay back!"

"Wha- I- Don't call me by my first name! It's Matsuzaki-san thank you very much!" She responded angrily. Takigawa rolled his eyes and counted to three before kicking the door wide open. It gave away with a loud crack, wooden splinters flying all over the floor. Due to the commotion, nobody noticed Naru pick something up from the ground.

* * *

Ayako had finished telling the group what had happened during her walkthrough. It wasn't long before Ayako and Masako had begun arguing over the existence of spirits in the building.

"I think there's an earth bound spirit here"

"Don't be ridiculous! What difference can an old hag tell between an earth bound spirit and a regular ol' spirit?" Ayako let out a small growl at Takigawa. Mai stood there with a poker face, attempting to be invisible and avoid getting caught up in their fight. ' _And to think they were calling US kids!'_ Unfortunately, it looked like John had gotten caught up in their argument while trying to make peace and Mai could only give him a pitiful look when he glanced her way.

"You know what? I'll take care of this issue by performing my own exorcism tomorrow. Just watch and learn, kiddos! Ta Ta!" And with a click of her heels, Ayako was gone.

"What a waste, there are no spirits here," Masako said, her mouth covered by the long sleeve of her kimono.

Mai held her hand to her chin. ' _I wonder what it could've been. How does a door lock with no lock in the first place? Could there be a spirit so strong to hide from Masako's abilities?"_ Her eyes wandered back over to the petite medium who was now slowly approaching her temporary narcissistic boss.

"Now that things have calmed down, I've been meaning to ask you… have we… met somewhere before?" Mai's mouth fell open as did the two men behind her. Mai grit her teeth and narrowed her eyes. No way was this so called "professional" actually flirting with her boss, on a case no less!

"I believe this is our first meeting," was all Naru said before turning to Mai, all business and no fun. "Let's start positioning the equipment on the second floor. Afterwards you're free to go but I'll need you here tomorrow. Be prepared to stay overnight."

A few seconds ticked by as Mai processed his words. "HUH? But tomorrow is Saturday!"

"Yes and today is Friday. Is there an issue, or would you rather pay me back for the camera?"

Hanging her head down as she listened to Takigawa snicker behind his hand, she could only reply with a defeated, "I'll be ready."

* * *

"Masako Hara? _The_ Masako Hara? As in, the one on tv?!"  
"Oh my god! She's so pretty!"

"First a hot boss, and now a famous cute girl too?"

"I wonder what skin care products she uses…" Michiru touched her face gently, eyes glazing over, deep in thought.

"All of my chances are gone with her around and you're no good with guys anyways to even help me!"

"Hey, what's that supposed to mean?!"

"Only a girl like her can pull off a kimono in this day and age."

"Ladies, ladies, calm down let me speak for a second!"

"That's it, I'm never going to find a man. I'm gonna die all alone while I watch Miss Masako Hara prance around on tv with your hot teen ghost hunter boss. Wahhhh!"

"She'll probably look good doing it too!" Michiru laughed as Keiko shed a few fake tears.

Mai gave a huge eye roll, "Who cares about that jerk! He's rude and narcissistic!"

Keiko swooned, "Ah my heart! But he's sooo handsome!"

"You're so shallow, Michiru back me up!" The video call continued like this for about another hour, filled with laughs and lots of teasing. Mai felt better knowing she could tell her friends anything. Well, almost anything.

"Alright, I gotta go. My moody boss wants me at school tomorrow morning. I promise we can go to that cafe next time! Byeeee!" With that, Mai closed her laptop, ignoring her friends protests. She would've been stuck in that call for another hour if she didn't leave like she did. Flopping onto her back on her bed, Mai sighed. Raising a hand above her head, she made a fist and promptly uncurled it. Watching as the tips of her fingers turned slightly see through, she let out the breath she hadn't realized she had been holding.

"Aaargh!" Mushi woke up very much spooked by his owners scream. Seeing as how Mai was currently trying to smother herself with a pillow Mushi rearranged himself on his bed and went back to sleep. ' _Even my own cat doesn't care! Ugh, but I'm sick of this. First it's those stupid dreams and now it's this weird phasing ghost trick? And then I meet a literal ghost hunter! No way, no way, no waaay! Why couldn't I just be a regular Tokyo girl?"_ Mai took a peek at her clock, which read 11:49 pm. Groaning she forced herself up from her bed. Another day gone by, no use in continuing to mope around at things she couldn't change. Maybe after the case was over, she could do more research about herself. If only her mom was still around. She would know what was going on, she always did.


End file.
